What's Important about Photography

By Ernest H. Robl

Copyright ©1997 Ernest H.Robl; All rights reserved
No part of this essay may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the author.

People who like a particular photograph sometimes ask me how it was made. Rather than get into the specifics of which camera, lens, or exposure I used, I try to articulate some of the following points:

• The most important photographic accessory is a good pair of walking shoes, or, as the situation warrants, a good pair of hiking boots. Walk around and look at your subject matter before you start looking through your viewfinder.

• Learn to see how light affects your subject matter. Learn to see how light changes throughout the day and from season to season. Without light, there is no photography. Without understanding of light, you will produce boring photographs.

• Be willing to be patient. You may have to wait for the light to change or other elements to come together. One good photograph is worth much more than many mediocre ones.

• Learn everything you can about your subject matter. Knowledge does make a difference, even it it's not always obvious at first glance. By the time I get to a particular location, I've read anything I could find about it and armed myself with maps and other reference materials.

• Always ask yourself why you are making a particular photograph. Who is the intended audience? What are you trying to communicate to that audience?

• There is no such thing as a good photograph. Photographs are good or bad in a particular context. A photograph that is perfect for one application or client may be completely wrong for another.

• Focus on details as well as the big picture. Not every story can be told in a single picture. in fact, most cannot be told with only one or two photos. But you need the the overviews to set the background for the details.

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If you are interested in learning more about photography from my point of view, go to the Business section of this Web site and look for the listing on consulting services and workshops.

To learn more about Ernest H. Robl's philosophy of photography, you may want to read his book, Getting Serious About Photography: A Self-Paced Workshop for Expanding Your Photographic Skills and Vision. The link in the preceding sentence takes you to several pages describing the book, including one with a detailed table of contents.

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